Written Answers

Thursday 9 March 2000

Scottish Executive

Benefit Fraud

Mr Keith Harding (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to ask all local authorities to undertake investigations into possible benefit frauds by their employees.

Mr Frank McAveety: Social security benefits including housing and council tax benefits are reserved matters and are the responsibility of the DSS. The Secretary of State for Social Security has said that the Benefits Agency will continue to work with councils to stamp out fraud and that the Department of Social Security will work in partnership with others to win the fight against fraud. Further to that, the Benefit Fraud Inspectorate will continue its programme of inspections of Scottish local authorities.

Cape Wrath Bombing Range

Dorothy-Grace Elder (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the First Minister what environmental and agricultural damage, if any, was caused by US Navy Ships shelling the Cape Wrath coast last week.

Donald Dewar: The Ministry of Defence land at Cape Wrath is used by all NATO forces and has been in use as a bombing range since at least 1933. I understand from the Ministry of Defence that the use of the range by US Navy ships last weekend was part of the normal activity on the range.

  I am assured by Scottish Natural Heritage that the controlled use of the range is consistent with the maintenance of the nature conservation value of the area, which has been classified as a Special Protection Area under the EC Birds Directive in recognition of the bird life which co-exists successfully with the operation of the range.

  The range area is not in agricultural use.

Disabled Student Allowance

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial help is available to disabled students who do not meet the eligibility criteria for Disabled Student Allowance because, due to their disability, they have to take the fourteen-month, two-day course, as opposed to the full-time HNC course in social care.

Henry McLeish: As from academic session 1999-2000, Disabled Student Allowance was extended to part-time students undertaking the equivalent of 50% or more of equivalent full time courses. Students on the fourteen-month, two-day social care course should therefore qualify for assistance. However, the rules are complex and students should approach the Student Awards Agency for Scotland for advice on their individual circumstances.

Employment

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it is giving to the 3,500 BARMAC workers facing redundancy.

Henry McLeish: I refer Mary Scanlon to the written answer I gave to Maureen Macmillan’s question on this matter on 16 December 1999 (S1W-2910).

  Since then the on-site information centres have been opened and the information pack published. The training and upskilling initiatives are in hand and continue to be developed. Initial efforts have involved the creation of workshops to offer career guidance to groups of individuals, short courses designed to improve computer keyboard skills, courses to provide health and safety qualifications, a range of "craft" related skills such as rope access, survival training and weld codings. In addition, use of the Ardersier training centre allows welders to maintain codes.

  Over 2,000 people have now been registered on the HIE-OPS database.

Employment

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce, as part of its economic development strategy, monitoring of the wages of workers in new or expanded operations in Scotland, in particular in call centres.

Henry McLeish: A Framework for Economic Development in Scotland is currently being devised. The process involves wide-ranging and inclusive consultation with interested groups and individuals across the Scottish economy. The formal consultation period ended on 6 March and all responses will be given careful consideration. The framework is intended to provide an over-arching and coherent structure within which all policies affecting Scottish economic development can be considered. It is unlikely to include detailed initiatives relating to data monitoring.

European Convention on Human Rights

Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the advice regarding the implications of the European Convention on Human Rights for temporary sheriffs which it received from the Crown Office and to provide details of the action that was taken following receipt of this advice.

Mr Jim Wallace: The content and source of legal advice to Ministers is confidential.

Health

Colin Campbell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recovery plan submitted by Argyll and Clyde Acute NHS Trust proposes any retraining or re-skilling programmes for staff.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is working closely with the Trust and health board to ensure that robust financial stability plans are produced which will ensure that high quality patient care continues to be delivered within a sustainable financial framework.

Health

Mr Kenneth Gibson (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recovery plan submitted by South Glasgow University Hospitals NHS Trust is expected to have any impact on ambulance service provision.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive is working closely with the Trust and the health board to ensure that a robust recovery plan is produced, which will ensure that high quality patient care continues to be delivered within a sustainable financial framework.

Health

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the recovery plan submitted by Lanarkshire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust proposes any staff re-deployment.

Susan Deacon: I refer to the answer I gave to Mr Gil Paterson earlier this afternoon.

Health

Marilyn Livingstone (Kirkcaldy) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what use it will make of information and communication technology to improve patient care.

Susan Deacon: The Scottish Executive intends to maximise the use of information and communications technology in the development of a seamless service for patients. We will exploit modern Internet technologies to replace over 20 million paper clinical messages and forms a year with faster, more reliable, electronic communications and make vital clinical information about our patients available appropriately to healthcare professionals under strict provisions to protect patient confidentiality.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide details of the multi-disciplinary approach needed to comply with the surveillance framework set out in the Scottish Infection Manual .

Susan Deacon: Details of the roles, responsibilities of health boards, hospitals and other healthcare providers are set out in detail in Chapter 1 of the Scottish Infection Manual,  which provides clear guidance on:

  the core membership and functions of Trust Infection Control Committees and Infection Control Teams,

  the role of Infection Control Doctors and Infection Control Nurses and links with other professionals/disciplines, and

  the control and management of HAI including audit and surveillance.

  A copy of the Scottish Infection Manual (1998) and its companion document Hospital Acquired Infection: A Framework for a National System of Surveillance for the NHS in Scotland (1999) will shortly be available to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre in electronic format and accessible from the NHS website, Scottish Health on the Web www.show.scot.nhs.uk.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all NHS staff will be offered an induction programme on infection control and, if so, whether it will give details of the timetable for this.

Susan Deacon: Learning Together 1 , the Education, Training and Lifelong Learning Strategy for the NHS in Scotland published in December 1999 requires each NHS employer to provide appropriate induction training to their staff. That training should draw on the Scottish Infection Manual2 which provides clear guidance on the roles and responsibilities of health boards, hospitals and other healthcare providers (including the need for appropriate education and training).

  Notes:

  1. Learning Together is currently available on the Scottish Executive website (www.scotland.gov.uk).

  2. Scottish Infection Manual will shortly be available in electronic format to the Scottish Parliament Information Centre on the NHS net, Scottish Health on the Web (www.show.scot.nhs.uk).

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the existing ratio is of infection control practitioners per acute core bed in NHS hospitals and what the projected future ratio is for those years for which figures are available.

Susan Deacon: All members of staff in the NHS bear some responsibility for infection control. However, Infection Control Teams within Trusts have particular responsibility for infection control. These teams are multi-disciplinary in nature and involve staff with professional backgrounds as diverse as catering and management.

  The majority of those in infection control teams are infection control nurses. Data on the numbers of infection control nurses is not collected separately by ISD Scotland, being included under general nursing.

  The medical specialty which concerns itself most with infection control is medical microbiology and virology, although it should be borne in mind that medical staff are quite a small part of the infection control team. The number of medical microbiology consultants per 1,000 acute beds in Scotland is 3.5 for beds available in the acute specialties. ("Acute" comprises the following specialty groups: acute surgical, acute medical, dental, GP other than obstetrics, radiology specialties, unspecified and excludes the following specialty groups: obstetrics, geriatric medicine, psychiatric and learning disabilities). The number for beds available to all specialties is 1.5 per 1,000.

  Because "infection control practitioner" is not a defined activity and infection control teams are diverse, it is not possible to state the ratio of infection control practitioners per acute core bed, or to project future ratios.

Housing

Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab): To ask the First Minister how social housing in rural areas will be supported.

Donald Dewar: Ms Wendy Alexander yesterday announced the Scottish Homes development programme for 2000-01 which included an allocation of £45 million for housing in rural Scotland, an increase of over £4 million from the current year. This would allow for almost 1,570 new and improved homes in rural Scotland, of which 1,260 will be for social renting. Ms Wendy Alexander also announced the launch of a Rural Partnership for Change pilot programme with Highland Council to test out a new approach to tackling housing problems in pressured rural areas.

Housing

Lewis Macdonald (Aberdeen Central) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive which of the options offered in the discussion paper A Single Social Housing Tenancy for Scotland; Rights, Responsibilities and Obligations for introducing the single social tenancy, as between phasing or a "big bang" approach, it now proposes to pursue in the light of responses to the paper and what it proposes in relation to the extension of special needs exemptions from the right to buy.

Ms Wendy Alexander: As we made clear in the discussion paper, our priority is to secure common rights, based on the single social tenancy, for all tenants provided that this does not prejudice the viability of landlords. In the light of representations that the financial wellbeing of individual housing associations could be adversely affected if their existing assured tenants were all given the right to buy at once (the "big bang" approach), we are considering whether, and if so in what precise financial circumstances, housing associations might be given the ability to opt out of the right to buy element of the single social tenancy for a specified period, in respect of properties occupied by assured tenants who do not have the right to buy.

  We are also continuing with consultations on further exemptions from the right to buy for houses built for persons with special needs. There is a strong case for exempting sales of individual houses where this would undermine the integrity of a group of houses specifically provided for persons with particular needs. We are, therefore, considering the possibility of exempting not only sheltered housing schemes with a warden service and call system but also other forms of group homes with support provided and groups of houses specifically provided for elderly persons.

  We will be discussing these possible courses of action with key housing interests and an announcement on the outcome will be made when these discussions and our consultations have been completed.

Marine Safety

Allan Wilson (Cunninghame North) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to regulate the use of jet skis in Scotland’s coastal waters.

Sarah Boyack: Maritime safety and vessel regulation are reserved matters and the responsibility of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). The Scottish Executive maintains regular contact with DETR on a range of matters, including coastal waters. I understand there are no plans to regulate the use of jet skis in coastal waters.

Ministerial Correspondence

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning will reply to my letter of 3 November 1999 and reminder of 20 January 2000 regarding student finance.

Henry McLeish: The Scottish Executive has no record of Mr Crawford’s letter of 3 November 1999 or his reminder of 20 January 2000. However, if the member cares to send my office another copy, I shall ensure that it receives immediate attention.

Ministers

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive which Ministers have met their European counterparts over the past two months and what issues were discussed.

Mr Jack McConnell: Since 1 January 2000, Mr Sam Galbraith has met the Albanian Minister for Education and Science; Susan Deacon has met the Finnish Ministers for Social Affairs and Health and Social Services; Sarah Boyack has met the Icelandic Minister for Transport, Communications and Tourism and Ms Wendy Alexander and Jackie Baillie have met the Irish Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs. In addition, I have met the Czech Deputy Prime Minister and, with Mr Tom McCabe, the Bavarian Minister for European Affairs. We all discussed issues relevant to the people of Scotland.

Ministers

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will detail the number of flights undertaken by all Ministers and their civil servants since 7 May 1999, and whether flights outwith the UK were always routed directly into Scotland where a direct Scottish route was available or whether any were routed through London.

Mr Jack McConnell: The number of flights undertaken by all Scottish Executive Ministers and civil servants on official duty from 7 May 1999 to 31 January 2000 was 8,500. Flights outwith the UK were not always routed directly into Scotland where a direct Scottish route was available. Fifty-seven flights from outwith the UK were routed through London either to secure the best fare price or accommodate Ministers' or officials' schedules which may have required a stopover in London.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4210 by Henry McLeish on 18 February 2000, what its target number of lone parents to be helped into jobs was for the period up to November 1999.

Henry McLeish: Employment Policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.

  From the launch of NDLP in October 1998 until April 1999 there was no target set in the Annual Performance Agreement (APA) for job achievement. An APA was introduced in April 1999.

  For the period April-November 1999 the expected profile of jobs achieved in Scotland was 953. The actual number of jobs achieved was 2,159.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4210 by Henry McLeish on 18 February 2000, how many of the 3,480 lone parents helped into jobs were still in the same job 13 weeks after their completion dates on the New Deal for Lone Parents programme.

Henry McLeish: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal for Lone Parents throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.

  The information requested is not at present available from the Employment Service New Deal Evaluation Database.

New Deal

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4210 by Henry McLeish on 18 February 2000, to provide a breakdown by Travel to Work, or other geographical area, of the 3,480 lone parents helped into jobs by the end of November 1999.

Henry McLeish: Employment policy is reserved to the UK Government which therefore takes the lead on the funding and delivery of the New Deal for Lone Parents (NDLP) throughout Great Britain, although in close consultation with its partners, including the Scottish Executive.

  The NDLP programme is delivered through Employment Service Districts. The table below sets out the jobs achieved within each Employment Service District in Scotland.

  Figures to end of November 1999:

  


Tayside

  

324

  



Ayrshire, 

  Dumfries and Galloway

  

301

  



Borders, 

  East and Midlothian

  

178

  



Lanarkshire

  

473

  



Dunbartonshire, 

  Argyll and Bute

  

159

  



Edinburgh

  

299

  



Fife

  

185

  



Forth Valley 

  & Lothian West

  

301

  



Glasgow 

  North

  

364

  



Glasgow 

  South

  

268

  



Grampian, 

  Moray, Orkney & Shetland

  

221

  



Renfrewshire 

  & Inverclyde

  

262

  



Highlands 

  and Western Isles

  

145

  



Scotland

  

3,480

Rape Victims

Mr Gil Paterson (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of rape victims have their request to be examined by a female police surgeon granted and, of this percentage, whether it will detail the average distance travelled and time waited by these victims to receive attention in comparison with those who receive treatment from a male surgeon.

Mr Jim Wallace: The information requested is not held centrally.

Rural Affairs

Mr Duncan Hamilton (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-4068 by Ross Finnie on 14 February 2000, what criteria were used in the decision to place new posts in the Rural Affairs Department within the existing Area Office network; in particular what criteria have been or will be used to determine which Area Office the new posts will be based in and what weighting was or will be given to geographical displacement of civil service posts.

Ross Finnie: Decisions on where to place posts in the existing Area Office network have been based on projected workloads, which have shown a requirement for new staff in offices throughout most of Scotland.

Scottish Youth Parliament

Brian Adam (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to provide funding for the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Mr Sam Galbraith: The Scottish Executive made available £25,000 to the Scottish Youth Parliament in the current financial year in part to assist with the costs of its inaugural event in June 1999 and to secure support to enable it to finalise its draft funding strategy and seek long-term funding.

Student Finance

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the system of financial assistance to Scottish domiciled students who have gained scholarships under the Dance and Drama Award Scheme, given that some local authorities have ceased to award discretionary bursary payments.

Peter Peacock: It is for local authorities in Scotland to decide whether to award discretionary bursary payments to students. We have no plans at present to change this system.

Transport

Tavish Scott (Shetland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it last met the management of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd and what matters were discussed.

Sarah Boyack: Ministers meet the management of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) from time to time to discuss a variety of issues. The last meeting was in July last year when operational matters were discussed. Scottish Executive officials also meet HIAL’s management regularly to discuss financial and operational matters, as well as through the presence of an assessor at Board meetings.

Transport

Mr John McAllion (Dundee East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to ensure equality of access to rail services across Scotland.

Sarah Boyack: The Executive has issued guidance to local authorities on the preparation of Local Transport Strategies. These should address, amongst other things, improved accessibility to public transport for those with mobility problems. Scottish Ministers have awarded additional capital allocations to four councils and the Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority for projects which include measures to provide improved access for disabled people to rail services and stations.

Transport

Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has reached any decisions regarding the M74 Northern Extension following the Minister for Transport’s meeting with the local authorities involved in December 1999.

Sarah Boyack: When I announced the outcome of the Strategic Roads Review on 4 November 1999, I noted that responsibility for progressing the M74 proposals would continue to rest with the City of Glasgow and South Lanarkshire Councils. At my meeting in December with representatives of Glasgow City, South Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire Councils, I indicated that I wished my officials to offer advice and assistance to the Councils as they developed their thinking on the scheme. As a result, Scottish Executive officials have since met the Councils on a number of occasions and are keeping closely in touch with progress.

Volvo in Irvine

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it has taken since July to find a successor user for the Volvo plant in Irvine, including details of any financial incentives for successor users proposed during that period.

Henry McLeish: My officials and officials of Enterprise Ayrshire and Locate in Scotland have been working closely with Volvo since the closure announcement in an attempt to secure a continuing engineering operation on the Irvine site.

  Locate in Scotland, Enterprise Ayrshire and the Scottish Executive have been acting as brokers between Volvo and potentially interested parties and have also been working with Volvo and other members of the Volvo Liaison Group (including North Ayrshire Council and unions from the Volvo plant at Irvine) to market the site and its highly skilled workforce. Approximately 1,000 marketing brochures have been sent out by LiS to a wide range of manufacturing companies across the globe. Enterprise Ayrshire commissioned an industry specialist to identify opportunities for alternative manufacturing at the Volvo site that would utilise the considerable skills of the workforce. We have also been attempting to stimulate interest by approaching a number of companies directly, at home and abroad. There has been no positive outcome to any of these endeavours.

  I am confident that every possible avenue has been explored in terms of UK and worldwide opportunities. Unfortunately, despite these exhaustive efforts to find an alternative user for the plant, it has not been possible to identify a successor user before the closure of the plant at the end of June.

  Discussions with potential investors about possible financial assistance are always carried out on a commercially confidential basis. I can, however, confirm that any interested party has been made aware of the range of support potentially available. This will continue to be the case.

Volvo in Irvine

Michael Russell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it will now take to save jobs at the Volvo Factory in Irvine, following the announcement by management that the Scottish Executive has not found a successor user for the plant.

Henry McLeish: Local agencies remain committed to providing support and advice to the workforce and supporting retraining and upskilling to meet local labour market requirements. To date some 300 employees have taken advantage of the retraining and upskilling opportunities available. Support mechanisms provided by key local agencies will remain in place until the closure date.

  Officials from the Scottish Executive, Enterprise Ayrshire and Locate in Scotland will continue to promote the value of the site and the skilled workforce to all potentially interested parties.

  The Executive and local agencies will continue to liaise with Volvo over the future of the site. Volvo has now appointed property agents to carry out an option appraisal on possible future use.

Water Charges

Richard Lochhead (North-East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it intends to examine the implications of Private Finance Initiative projects commissioned by the water authorities for charges for water and sewerage customers.

Sarah Boyack: PFI projects in the water and sewerage sector are essential schemes needed to meet the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment (Scotland) Regulations 1994. This investment is therefore unavoidable and it is for the authorities to achieve a value for money solution. The water authorities in these cases consider PFI the most appropriate means of implementing these schemes, through a process of competitive tendering. These costs are a factor the Water Industry Commissioner will take into account in providing advice on future charges.

Women in Scotland Consultative Forum

Ms Margaret Curran (Glasgow Baillieston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will report on the progress of the discussions which have taken place at the Women’s Consultative Forum (WCF) and what mechanisms have been put in place for the WCF to inform policy development.

Jackie Baillie: The Executive held its first meeting of the Women in Scotland Consultative Forum on 1 November and a detailed report of this meeting has been widely circulated.

  The Forum provides a useful opportunity for Ministers and officials to engage in dialogue with women's organisations to inform future policy development.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

Holyrood

Mr Brian Monteith (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer whether the architects’ fee for the Holyrood Project is a fixed fee or whether it will be calculated as a percentage of the final cost of the project and what the current estimate of that fee is.

Sir David Steel: The architects of the Holyrood Project are employed through the Royal Institute of British Architects Standard Conditions of Engagement (1995). The fee for their work is based upon these conditions and is a percentage of the cost of construction only. It is inclusive of travel and subsistence. Details of the amount of fees to all the professional consultants are commercially confidential.

Holyrood

Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP): To ask the Presiding Officer whether he will list, by date and nature of request, the requests made by political parties for extra facilities at the Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood.

Sir David Steel: The Corporate Body has taken account of the existing number of researchers employed by each party, for which no allowance had been made in the original design. It has also had to consider other emerging demands for space resulting, for example, from additional parliamentary staff required to meet member’s requirements. However, all space requirements will now be revisited by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body in parallel with the review being led by John Spencely and his team.

Holyrood

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton (Lothians) (Con): To ask the Presiding Officer how the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body arrived at its different estimates of the cost of the Holyrood building and its related facilities, and how many different estimates it has been given and by whom.

Sir David Steel: I advise members to await the publication of Mr Spencely’s report which will set such details in context.